Chipola Habitat Receives Major Gift
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
CHIPOLA AREA HABITAT FOR HUMANITY
TAMARA DOURNEY
850-482-2187 EXT 103
RESOURCEDEVELOPMENT@CHIPOLAHABITAT.ORG
Chipola Area Habitat, Habitat for Humanity International and 83 Habitat affiliates receive transformational $436M gift from MacKenzie Scott
Chipola Area Habitat for Humanity will utilize gift to deepen impact on affordable housing supply in Jackson and Washington Counties
MARIANNA, FL (March 22, 2022) — Chipola Area Habitat for Humanity, along with Habitat for Humanity International, and 83 other U.S. Habitat affiliates, collectively received $436 million in unrestricted giving from American author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. This transformational donation will substantially help further Habitat’s vision of a world where everyone has equitable access to a safe, decent and affordable place to call home.
“It is with overwhelming gratitude and intensified commitment to stewardship that Chipola Area Habitat accepts this gift,” Chipola Habitat Executive Director Carmen D. Smith said. “For decades our organization has worked hard for families in our community. This support provides an opportunity to catapult our current plans while making provisions towards operational excellence for years to come.”
This spring, the Chipola Area Habitat for Humanity Board of Directors and senior leadership will host planning sessions to prioritize funding usage with consideration of our community needs and leverageable resources.
“One in four families in our community are extremely cost burdened, they pay upward of 50% of their income on housing,” Smith continued. “We have limited permanent and rental housing units available. The complexities of our housing unaffordability may be attributed to things such as, rising costs with incomparable wages, generational and passive acceptance of substandard dwellings, and inconsistencies in the housing needs and housing investment. Habitat for Humanity is committed to do our part.”
Habitat International will use its $25 million portion of the donation to prioritize advocacy and programmatic efforts. Specifically, the donation will allow Habitat to advocate for policy proposals and legislation that enable millions of people access affordable housing through its Cost of Home advocacy campaign.
“Habitat works to break down barriers and bring people together — to tear down obstacles and build a world where everyone, no matter who we are or where we come from, has a decent place to live,” said Habitat for Humanity International CEO Jonathan Reckford. “This incredible gift helps make that work possible.”
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About Chipola Area Habitat for Humanity
Since 1988, Chipola Area Habitat for Humanity has helped families achieve self-reliance and stability through shelter. Developing community partnerships and the shared goal of transforming lives are vital to our work. We believe that families should not just survive, but that they should flourish. We understand that adequate shelter is often the catalyst that ignites transformation. With the help of our communities, we construct affordable, resilient new homes in Jackson and Washington counties. Find out more about Chipola Area Habitat for Humanity at www.chipolahabitat.org or on Facebook at FB.me/chipolahabitat.
About Habitat for Humanity International
Driven by the vision that everyone needs a decent place to live, Habitat for Humanity found its earliest inspirations as a grassroots movement on an interracial community farm in south Georgia. Since its founding in 1976, the Christian housing organization has grown to become a leading global nonprofit working in local communities across all 50 states in the U.S. and in more than 70 countries. Families and individuals in need of a hand up partner with Habitat for Humanity to build or improve a place they can call home. Habitat homeowners help build their own homes alongside volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage. Through financial support, volunteering or adding a voice to support affordable housing, everyone can help families achieve the strength, stability and self-reliance they need to build better lives for themselves. Through shelter, we empower. To learn more, visit habitat.org.
